At around 4 a.m. on April 6, 71-year-old Donald Myers woke up to a frozen computer screen. He then spent the next two days wiring away almost $100,000 of his retirement.
“It looked real, man,” Myers told Tigard Life, days after he transferred his savings to an alleged Microsoft employee. “I get this guy on the phone who says he’s involved with Microsoft Security.”
Myers said that on the morning of April 6, his computer screen was frozen, with only a display that said his “security had been compromised and instructing him to call a phone number for assistance. After calling, Myers was connected with someone claiming to be with “Microsoft Security,” who told Myers he needed to go to his bank to wire money.
“I usually get up around four in the morning and go to bed late at night. I’m retired. Was. Was retired,” Myers said. “I go down to the bank, and I was instructed to wire the first wire of $49,000 to a Wells Fargo Bank…And then I was asked to transfer another $49,000.”
Myers was told by the caller that by wiring the money to a different bank, it would be protected from scammers who had already infiltrated his personal information and stole $35,000. Myers said that in the midst of this, he was contacted by another individual claiming to be with his bank and telling him he had been charged $35,000, further corroborating the man’s story.
After Myers sent over around $98,000 to two different Wells Fargo accounts, the man claiming to be with Microsoft Security stopped answering his calls.
“It eats up all my savings,” Myers said. “I’m probably gonna be forced to move…I’m wondering how I’m going to pay my bills, how long it’s gonna last and when I run out of money, what then?”
Myers said he had been in communication with the Elderly Fraud Division of the United States, along with the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and local law enforcement since the incident.
“They’ve classified us as the ones getting targeted pretty heavily,” Myers said about senior citizens. “When you’re retired, you don’t drive. The only thing you got is a phone and a computer…Even going into your bank is not safe.”
Community Engagement Coordinator at the Tigard Police Department, Maddie Bauer, told Tigard Life that the department frequently hears from scam victims and that the types of scams people can fall victim to are always evolving.
“Computer scams in general happen to anyone,” Bauer said. “We do hear about folks who have been impacted by computer scams, there’s just all sorts of different scams so, it could look like investment scams, it could be bitcoin, it could be gift cards, it could be donation scams, all sorts of different scams that could be done through the computer.”
Bauer advised people to be wary of what she called “root red flags,” which she said are consistent across a variety of computer scams.
“They evolve as technology evolves, as people become more savvy, they change the scam a little bit,” Bauer said. “When something’s out of the blue or an emergency where they’re pressuring you, all of those tactics will stay the same pretty much, but they’ll change the story or change how they’re getting a hold of you.”
Bauer said that any kind of request for money is the primary red flag for a scam and urged people involved in suspected scams to reach out to local law enforcement.
Myers told Tigard Life on April 21 that he had yet to receive a response from the federal agencies he had contacted and said he just wanted to raise awareness of his story.
“I’m not willing to stop,” Myers said. “I want action. I’m not gonna sit around, it’s not who I am.”
The Tigard and Tualatin Police Departments regularly host scam-prevention events to alert residents to the latest tactics used by online scammers. Tigard Police’s next event is on May 9 at the Tigard City Hall at 9 a.m.
More information on the latest scam tactics is available from the Tigard Police Department at tigardlife.com/go/scams.
